Eiffel Tower, Champ de
Mars, Paris.
An icon of modernist architecture
designed by Gustave Eiffel.

What is Modern
Art? (Definition)

There is no precise definition of the term
"Modern Art": it remains an elastic term, which can accomodate
a variety of meanings. This is not too surprising, since we are constantly
moving forward in time, and what is considered "modern painting"
or "modern sculpture" today, may not be seen as modern in fifty
years time. Even so, it is traditional to say that "Modern Art"
means works produced during the approximate period 1870-1970. This "Modern
era" followed a long period of domination by Renaissance-inspired
academic art, promoted by
the network of European Academies of Fine Art. And is itself followed
by "Contemporary Art" (1970
onwards), the more avant-garde of which is also called "Postmodern
Art". This chronology accords with the view of many art
critics and institutions, but not all. Both the Tate Modern in London,
and the Musee National d'Art Moderne at the Pompidou Centre in Paris,
for instance, take 1900 as the starting point for "Modern Art".
Also, neither they, nor the Museum of Modern Art in New York, make any
distinction between "modernist" and "postmodernist"
works: instead, they see both as phases of "Modern Art".

Incidentally, when trying to understand
the history of art it's important to
recognize that art does not change overnight, but rather reflects wider
(and slower) changes taking place in society. It also reflects the outlook
of the artist. Thus, for example, a work of art
produced as early as 1958 might be decidedly "postmodernist"
(if the artist has a very avant-garde outlook - a good example is Yves
Klein's Nouveau Realisme); while another work, created by a conservative
artist in 1980, might be seen as a throw-back to the time of "Modern
Art" rather than an example of "Contemporary Art". In fact,
it's probably true to say that several different strands of art - meaning
several sets of aesthetics, some
hypermodern, some old-fashioned - may co-exist at any one time. Also,
it's worth remembering that many of these terms (like "Modern Art")
are only invented after the event, from the vantage point of hindsight.

NOTE: The 1960s is generally seen as the
decade when artistic values gradually changed, from "modernist"
to "postmodernist". This means that for a period of time both
sets of values co-existed with each other.

To understand how "modern art"
began, a little historical background is useful. The 19th century was
a time of significant and rapidly increasing change. As a result of the
Industrial Revolution (c.1760-1860) enormous changes in manufacturing,
transport, and technology began to affect how people lived, worked, and
travelled, throughout Europe and America. Towns and cities swelled and
prospered as people left the land to populate urban factories. These industry-inspired
social changes led to greater prosperity but also cramped and crowded
living conditions for most workers. In turn, this led to: more demand
for urban architecture; more demand for applied
art and design - see, for instance the Bauhaus
School - and the emergence of a new class of wealthy entrepreneurs
who became art collectors and patrons. Many of the world's best art museums
were founded by these 19th century tycoons.

In addition, two other developments had
a direct effect on fine art of the period. First, in 1841, the American
painter John Rand (18011873) invented the collapsible tin paint
tube. Second, major advances were made in photography,
allowing artists to photograph scenes which could then be painted in the
studio at a later date. Both these developments would greatly benefit
a new style of painting known, disparagingly, as "Impressionism",
which would have a radical effect on how artists painted the world around
them, and would in the process become the first major school of modernist
art.

As well as affecting how artists
created art, 19th century social changes also inspired artists to explore
new themes. Instead of slavishly following the Hierarchy
of the Genres and being content with academic subjects involving religion
and Greek mythology, interspersed with portraits and 'meaningful' landscapes
- all subjects that were designed to elevate and instruct the spectator
- artists began to make art about people, places, or ideas that interested
them. The cities - with their new railway stations and new slums - were
obvious choices and triggered a new class of genre
painting and urban landscape. Other subjects were the suburban villages
and holiday spots served by the new rail networks, which would inspire
new forms of landscape painting
by Monet, Matisse and others. The genre of history painting also changed,
thanks to Benjamin West (1738-1820) who painted The Death of General
Wolfe (1770, National Gallery of Art, Ottowa), the first 'contemporary'
history painting, and Goya (1746-1828) whose Third
of May, 1808 (1814, Prado, Madrid) introduced a ground-breaking,
non-heroic idiom.

The 19th century also witnessed a number
of philosophical developments which would have a significant effect on
art. The growth of political thought, for instance, led Courbet
and others to promote a socially conscious form of Realist
painting - see also Realism
to Impressionism). Also, the publication of The Interpretation
of Dreams (1899) by Sigmund Freud, popularized the notion of the "subconscious
mind", causing artists to explore Symbolism and later Surrealism.
The new self-consciousness which Freud promoted, led to (or at least coincided
with) the emergence of German
Expressionism, as artists turned to expressing their subjective feelings
and experiences.

When Did Modern
Art Begin?

The date most commonly cited as marking
the birth of "modern art" is 1863 - the year that Edouard
Manet (1832-83) exhibited his shocking and irreverent painting Le
Dejeuner sur l'herbe in the Salon
des Refuses in Paris. Despite Manet's respect for the French
Academy, and the fact it was modelled on a Renaissance work by Raphael,
it was considered to be one of the most scandalous pictures of the period.

But this was merely a symbol of wider
changes that were taking place in various types
of art, both in France and elsewhere in Europe. A new generation of
"Modern Artists" were fed up
with following the traditional academic art forms of the 18th and early
19th century, and were starting to create a range of "Modern Paintings"
based on new themes, new materials, and bold new methods. Sculpture
and architecture were also affected
- and in time their changes would be even more revolutionary - but fine
art painting proved to be the first major battleground between the
conservatives and the new "Moderns".

What
is the Main Characteristic of Modern Art?

What we call "Modern Art" lasted
for an entire century and involved dozens of different art
movements, embracing almost everything from pure abstraction to hyperrealism;
from anti-art schools like Dada and Fluxus to classical painting and sculpture;
from Art Nouveau to Bauhaus and Pop Art. So great was the diversity
that it is difficult to think of any unifying characteristic which defines
the era. But if there is anything that separates modern artists
from both the earlier traditionalists and later postmodernists, it is
their belief that art mattered. To them, art had real value. By
contrast, their precedessors simply assumed it had value. After
all they had lived in an era governed by Christian value systems and had
simply "followed the rules." And those who came after
the Modern period (1970 onwards), the so-called "postmodernists",
largely rejected the idea that art (or life) has any intrinsic value.

In What
Ways was Modern Art Different? (Characteristics)

Although there is no single defining feature
of "Modern Art", it was noted for a number of important characteristics,
as follows:

Modern painters affixed objects to their
canvases, such as fragments of newspaper and other items. Sculptors used
"found objects", like the "readymades"
of Marcel Duchamp, from
which they created works of Junk art. Assemblages were created out of
the most ordinary everyday items, like cars, clocks, suitcases, wooden
boxes and other items.

(3) Expressive Use of Colour

Movements of modern art like Fauvism, Expressionism
and Colour Field painting were the first to exploit colour in a major
way.

(4) New Techniques

Chromolithography was invented by the poster
artist Jules Cheret, automatic drawing was developed by surrealist painters,
as was Frottage and Decalcomania. Gesturalist painters invented Action
Painting. Pop artists introduced "Benday dots", and silkscreen
printing into fine art. Other movements and schools of modern art which
introduced new painting techniques, included: Neo-Impressionism, the Macchiaioli,
Synthetism, Cloisonnism, Gesturalism, Tachisme, Kinetic Art, Neo-Dada
and Op-Art.

How Did Modern
Art Develop Between 1870 and 1970?

1870-1900

Although in some ways the last third of
the 19th century was dominated by the new Impressionist style of painting,
in reality there were several pioneering strands of modern art, each with
its own particular focus. They included: Impressionism (accuracy
in capturing effects of sunlight); Realism (content/theme); Academic
Art (classical-style true-life pictures); Romanticism (mood);
Symbolism (enigmatic iconography); lithographic poster art
(bold motifs and colours). The final decade saw a number of revolts against
the Academies and their 'Salons', in the form of the Secession movement,
while the late-1890s witnessed the decline of "nature-based art",
like Impressionism, which would soon lead to a rise in more serious "message-based"
art.

1900-14

In many ways this was the most exciting
period of modern art, when everything was still possible and when the
"machine" was still viewed exclusively as a friend of
man. Artists in Paris produced a string of new styles, including Fauvism,
Cubism and Orphism, while German artists launched their own school of
expressionist painting. All these progressive movements rejected traditionalist
attitudes to art and sought to champion their own particular agenda of
modernism. Thus Cubism wanted to prioritize the formal attributes of painting,
while Futurism preferred to emphasize the possibilities of the machine,
and expressionism championed individual perception.

1914-24

The carnage and destruction of The Great
War changed things utterly. By 1916, the Dada movement was launched, filled
with a nihilistic urge to subvert the value system which had caused Verdun
and the Somme. Suddenly representational
art seemed obscene. No imagery could compete with photographs of the
war dead. Already artists had been turning more and more to non-objective
art as a means of expression. Abstract
art movements of the time included Cubism (1908-40), Vorticism (1914-15),
Suprematism (1913-18), Constructivism (1914-32), De Stijl (1917-31), Neo-Plasticism
(1918-26), Elementarism (1924-31), the Bauhaus (1919-33) and the later
St Ives School. Even the few figurative movements were distinctly edgy,
such as Metaphysical Painting (c.1914-20). But compare the early 20th
century Classical Revival
in modern art and Neoclassical
Figure Paintings by Picasso (1906-30).

1924-40

The Inter-war years continued to be troubled
by political and economic troubles. Abstract painting and sculpture continued
to dominate, as true-to-life representational art remained very unfashionable.
Even the realist wing of the Surrealism movement - the biggest movement
of the period - could manage no more than a fantasy style of reality.
Meantime, a more sinister reality was emerging on the Continent, in the
form of Nazi art and Soviet agit-prop.
Only Art Deco, a rather sleek design style aimed at architecture and applied
art, expressed any confidence in the future.

1940-60

The art world was transformed by the catastrophe
of World War Two. To begin with, its centre of gravity moved from Paris
to New York, where it has remained ever since. Nearly all future world
record prices would be achieved in the New York sales rooms of Christie's
and Sotheby's. Meantime, the unspeakable phenomenon of Auschwitz had undermined
the value of all realist art, except for Holocaust
art of those affected. As a result of all this, the next major international
movement - Abstract Expressionism - was created by American artists of
the New York School.
Indeed, for the next 20 years, abstraction would dominate, as new movements
rolled off the line. They included: Art Informel, Action-Painting, Gesturalism,
Tachisme, Colour Field Painting, Lyrical Abstraction, Hard Edge Painting,
and COBRA, a group best known for its child-like imagery, and expressive
brushstrokes. During the 1950s other tendencies emerged, of a more avant-garde
kind, such as Kinetic art, Nouveau Realisme and Neo-Dada, all of
which demonstrated a growing impatience with the strait-laced arts industry.

1960s

The explosion of popular music and television
was reflected in the Pop-Art movement, whose images of Hollywood celebrities,
and iconography of popular culture, celebrated the success of America's
mass consumerism. It also had a cool 'hip' feel and helped to dispel some
of the early 60s gloom associated with the Cuban Crisis of 1962, which
in Europe had fuelled the success of the Fluxus movement led by George
Maciunas, Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik and Wolf Vostell. Down-to-earth
Pop-art was also a welcome counterpoint to the more erudite Abstract Expressionism,
which was already started to fade. But the 1960s also saw the rise of
another high-brow movement known as Minimalism, a form of painting and
sculpture purged of all external references or gestures - unlike the emotion-charged
idiom of Abstract Expressionism.

Modern Photographic Art

One of the most important and influential
new media which came to prominence during the "Modern Era" is
photography. Four genres in particular have become established. They include:
Portrait Photography,
a genre that has largely replaced painted portraits; Pictorialism
(fl.1885-1915) a type of camera art in which the photographer manipulates
a regular photo in order to create an "artistic" image; Fashion
Photography (1880-present) a type of photography devoted to the promotion
of clothing, shoes, perfume and other branded goods; Documentary
Photography (1860-present), a type of sharp-focus camerawork that
captures a moment of reality, so as to present a message about what is
happening in the world; and Street Photography
(1900-present), the art of capturing chance interactions of human activity
in urban areas. Practiced by many of the world's greatest
photographers, these genres have made a major contribution to modern
art of the 20th century.

Modern Architecture

Modernism in architecture is a more convoluted
affair. The word "modernism" in building design was first used
in America during the 1880s to describe skyscrapers designed by the Chicago
School of Architecture (1880-1910), such as The Montauk Building (1882-83)
designed by Burnham and Root; the Home Insurance Building (1884) designed
by William Le Baron Jenney; and the Marshall Field Warehouse (1885-7)
designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. In the 20th century, a new type of
design emerged, known as the International
Style of Modern Architecture (c.1920-70). Beginning in Germany, Holland
and France, in the hands of Le
Corbusier (1887-1965), Walter Gropius (1883-1969) and others, it spread
to America where it became the dominant idiom for commercial skyscrapers,
thanks to the efforts of Mies
van der Rohe (1886-1969), formerly director of the Bauhaus School.
Later, the centre of modern building design was established permanently
in the United States, mainly due to the advent of supertall skyscraper
architecture, which was then exported around the globe.

When Did Modern Art
End? What Replaced it?

Modernism didn't just stop, it was gradually
overtaken by events during the late 1960s - a period which coincided with
the rise of mass pop-culture and also with the rise of anti-authoritarian
challenges (in social and political areas as well as the arts) to the
existing orthodoxies. A key year was 1968, which witnessed the Tet Offensive,
the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, and street
demonstrations throughout the capitals of Europe. As Modernism began to
look increasingly old-fashioned, it gave way to what is known as "Contemporary
Art" - meaning "art of the present era". The term "Contemporary
Art" is neutral as to the progressiveness of the art in question,
and so another phrase - "postmodernism" - is often used to denote
recent avant-garde art.
Schools of "postmodernist art" advocate a new set of
aesthetics characterized by a greater focus on medium and style. For instance,
they emphasize style over substance (eg. not 'what' but 'how'; not 'art
for art's sake', but 'style for style's sake'), and place much greater
importance on artist-communication with the audience.

Exemplified by the landscape paintings
of Claude Monet (1840-1926), Impressionism
focused on the almost impossible task of capturing fleeting moments of
light and colour. Introduced non-naturalist colour schemes, and loose
- often highly textured - brushwork. Close-up many Impressionist paintings
were unrecognizable. Highly unpopular with the general public and the
arts authorities, although highly rated by other modern artists, dealers
and collectors. Eventually became the world's most famous painting movement.
See: Characteristics
of Impressionist Painting (1870-1910). The main contribution of Impressionism
to "modern art" was to legitimize the use of non-naturalist
colours, thus paving the way for the wholly non-naturalist abstract art
of the 20th century.

Short-lived, dramatic and highly influential,
Led by Henri Matisse (1869-1954),
Fauvism was 'the' fashionable style during the mid-1900s in Paris. The
new style was launched at the Salon
d'Automne, and became instantly famous for its vivid, garish,
non-naturalist colours that made Impressionism appear almost monochrome!
A key precursor of expressionism. See: History
of Expressionist Painting (1880-1930). The main contribution of Fauvism
to "modern art" was to demonstrate the independent power of
colour. This highly subjective approach to art was in contrast to the
classical content-oriented outlook of the academies.

An austere and challenging style of painting,
Cubism introduced a compositional system of flat splintered planes as
an alternative to Renaissance-inspired linear perspective and rounded
volumes. Developed by Pablo Picasso
(1881-1973) and Georges Braque
(1882-1963) in two variants - Analytical
Cubism and later Synthetic
Cubism - it influenced abstract art for the next 50 years, although
its popular appeal has been limited. The main contribution of Cubism to
"modern art" was to offer a whole new alternative to conventional
perspective, based on the inescapable fact of the flat picture plane.

Founded by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944),
Futurist art glorified speed, technology, the automobile, the airplane
and scientific achievement. Although very influential, it borrowed heavily
from Neo-Impressionism and Italian Divisionism, as well as Cubism, especially
its fragmented forms and multiple viewpoints. The main contribution of
Futurism to "modern art" was to introduce movement into the
canvas, and to link beauty with scientific advancement.

Although anticipated by artists like JMW
Turner (Interior at Petworth, 1837), Van
Gogh (Wheat Field with Crows, 1890) and Paul
Gauguin (Anna The Javanese, 1893), expressionism was made famous by
two groups in pre-war Germany: Die Brucke (Dresden/Berlin) and
Der Blaue Reiter (Munich), led by Ernst
Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) and Wassily
Kandinsky (1866-1944) respectively. In sculpture, the forms of the
Duisburg-born artist Wilhelm
Lehmbruck (1881-1919) were (and still are) sublime. The main contribution
of expressionism to "modern art" was to popularize the idea
of subjectivity in painting and sculpture, and to show that representational
art may legitimately include subjective distortion.

The first anti-art movement, Dada was a
revolt against the system which had allowed the carnage of The First World
War (1914-18). It rapidly became an anarchistic tendency whose aim was
to subvert the arts establishment. Launched in neutral Switzerland in
1916, its leaders were in their early twenties, and most had "opted
out", avoiding conscription in the shelter of neutral cities such
as New York, Zurich and Barcelona. Founders included the sculptor Jean
Arp (1887-1966) and the Romanian poet and demonic activist Tristan
Tzara (1896-1963). The main contribution of Dada was to shake up the
arts world and to widen the concept of "modern art", by embracing
totally new types of creativity (performance art and readymades) as well
as new materials (junk art) and themes. Its seditious sense of humour
endured in the Surrealist movement.

Founded in Paris by writer Andre
Breton (1896-1966), Surrealism was 'the' fashionable art movement
of the inter-war years, although the style is still seen today. Composed
of abstract and figurative wings, it evolved out of the nihilistic Dada
movement, most of whose members metamorphosed into surrealists, but unlike
Dada it was neither anti-art nor political. Surrealist painters used various
methods - including dreams, hallucinations, automatic or random image
generation - to circumvent rational thought processes in creating works
of art. (For more, please see Automatism
in Art.) The main contribution of Surrealism to "modern art"
was to generate a refreshingly new set of images. Whether these images
were uniquely non-rational is doubtful. But Surrealist art is definitely
fun!

A broad style of abstract painting, developed
in New York just after World War II, hence it is also called the New York
School. Spearheaded by American artists - themselves strongly influenced
by European expatriates - it consisted of two main styles: a highly animated
form of gestural painting, popularized by Jackson
Pollock (1912-56), and a much more passive mood-oriented style known
as Colour Field painting, championed by Mark
Rothko (1903-70). The main contribution of abstract expressionism
to "modern art" was to popularize abstraction. In Pollock's
case, by inventing a new style known as "action painting" -
see photos by text; in Rothko's case, by demonstrating the emotional impact
of large areas of colour.

A style of art whose images reflected the
popular culture and mass consumerism of 1960s America. First emerging
in New York and London during the late 1950s, it became the dominant avant-garde
style until the late 1960s. Using bold, easy to recognize imagery, and
vibrant block colours, Pop artists like Andy
Warhol (1928-87) created an iconography based on photos of popular
celebrities like film-stars, advertisements, posters, consumer product
packaging, and comic strips - material that helped to narrow the divide
between the commercial arts and the fine arts. The main contribution of
abstract expressionism to "modern art" was to show that good
art could be low-brow, and could be made of anything. See: Andy
Warhol's Pop Art (c.1959-73).

A-Z List of Modern
Art Schools and Movements

Here is a list of movements and schools
from the "Modern Era", arranged in alphabetical order.

 Abstract
Expressionist Painting (1947-65)
Umbrella term for post-war styles known collectively as the New York School.
 American Scene
Painting (1925-45)
Realist style that exalted rural and small town America.
 Armory Show of Modern
Art (1913)
Ground-breaking exhibition of modern art held in America.
 Art Deco (1925-40)
Sleek design style associated with the new 'Machine Age'.
 Art Informel (fl.1950s)
European version of Abstract Expressionism.
 Art Nouveau (1890-1914)
Curvilinear design style. Also called Jugendstil (Germany), Stile Liberty
(Italy).
 Arte Nucleare
(1951-60)
Political 'Art Informel-style' group that made art for the nuclear era.
 Arts and Crafts Movement
(1862-1914)
Anti-mass production movement, championed artisan crafts.
 Ashcan School (1900-1915)
New York group whose paintings depicted scenes from poorer areas.
 Australian
Impressionism (1886-1900)
Plein-air Heidelberg school named after its camps east of Melbourne.
 Biomorphic
(Organic) Abstraction (1930s/40s)
Rounded forms based on those found in nature. See works by Henry Moore.
 Berlin Secession
(1898)
Breakaway arts organization led by the artist Max Liebermann.
 Camden Town Group
(1911-13)
Group of English Impressionists led by Walter Sickert.
 Cloisonnism (1888-94)
Style of painting with patches of bright colour enclosed in thick black
outlines.
 COBRA group (1948-1951)
European equivalent of the New York gesturalism or "action painting".
 Colour Field
Painting (1948-68)
Style of Abstract Expressionism practised by Rothko, Barnett Newman, Clyfford
Still.
 Constructivism
(1914-32)
Artistic, design and architectural movement founded by Vladimir Tatlin.
 Cubism (fl.1908-14)See above: Most Important Movements
 Dada (1916-24)See above: Most Important Movements
 Der Blaue Reiter
(1911-14)
German Expressionist group based in Munich.
 De Stijl (1917-31)
Dutch avant-garde design group founded by Theo van Doesburg.
 Deutscher Werkbund
(1907-33)
German body established to improve German industrial design and crafts.
 Die Brucke (1905-13)
German Expressionist group in Dresden, later Berlin.
 Divisionism (1884-1904)
The theory behind Neo-Impressionism, also known as Chromoluminarism.
 Existential Art
(1940s, 1950s)
Style of painting and sculpture popularized by Robert Lapoujade and Giacometti.
 Expressionist
Movement (1880s onwards)
Subjective, often highly coloured and distorted style of painting.
 Fauvism (1905-8)See above: Most Important Movements
 Fluxus (1960s)
Avant-garde movement related to Lettrism, Nouveau Realisme and Neo-Dada.
 Futurism (1909-14)See above: Most Important Movements
 Hard Edge Painting
(late 1950s, 1960s)
Variant of Post-Painterly Abstraction, a reaction against gesturalism.
 Impressionism (fl. 1870-1880)See above: Most Important Movements
 Italian Divisionism
(1890-1907)
Post-Impressionist style that drew heavily on Pointillism and Neo-Impressionism.
 Kitchen Sink Art
(mid-1950s)
School of mundane realism.
 Macchiaioli (1855-80)
Italian group named after their use of patches (macchia) of colour.
 Magic Realism
(1920s)
Modern movement noted for its sharp-focus naturalism and offbeat themes.
 Metaphysical
Painting (1914-20)
Precursor of Surrealism developed by Giorgio de Chirico.
 Minimalism
Art without any historical, social or aesthetic references.
 Munich Secession
(1892)
The first of the progressive art movements in Europe to break away from
the conservative arts hierarchy.
 Nabis, Les (1890s)
Group of Parisian artists noted for their decorative art.
 Neo-Dada (1953-65)
Style noted for its use of unorthodox materials, and anti-establishment
ethic.
 Neo-Impressionism
(1884-1904)
Group noted for its use of small dots of pure paint pigment.
 Neo-Plasticism
(fl.1918-26)
Rigorous style of abstraction founded by Piet Mondrian.
 Neo-Romanticism
(1935-55)
Tendency in British painting to recreate visionary landscapes.
 New Objectivity
(Die Neue Sachlichkeit) (1925-35)
Biting expressionist style which reflected the cynicism of 1920s Germany.
 Nouveau Realisme
(1958-70)
Imaginative avant-garde precursor of postmodernism founded by Yves Klein.
 Op-Art (fl.1965-70)
Form of abstract painting based on optical illusions.
 Orphism (1914-15)
Colourful idiom of abstract art invented by Robert Delaunay.
 Paris School (Ecole
de Paris) (1890-1940)
Label for cluster of modern artists active in Paris, like Picasso, Modigliani.
 Pointillism (1884-1904)
Colour theory behind Neo-Impressionism involving small dabs of pure pigment.
 Pop Art (1955-70)See above: Most Important Movements
 Post-Impressionism
(1880s/90s)
Loose term for a variety of painting styles developed in the wake of Impressionism.
 Post-Painterly
Abstraction (1955-65)
Term invented by Clement Greenberg for post-gesturalism movements.
 Precisionism (fl.1920s)
Style of realist painting influenced by Futurism and Cubism.
 Realism (1850-1900)
Socially aware idiom championed by Courbet.
 Regionalism (Scene
Painting) (fl.1930s)
Style of painting which exalted small town America.
 Social Realism
(1930-45)
American style which commented on the problems of the Depression Era.
 Socialist Realism
(1928-80)
State controlled propagandist art associated chiefly with the Soviet Union.
 St Ives School
(1939-75)
Colony of abstract artists led by Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth.
 Suprematism (1913-18)
Style of Russian abstract painting developed by Kasimir Malevich.
 Surrealism (1924 onwards)See above: Most Important Movements
 Symbolism (1880s/90s)
Symbolists sought a reality from within their imagination and dreams.
 Synthetism (1888-94)
Noted for its flat areas of colour. Invented by Gauguin, Emile Bernard.
 Tachisme (1950s)
Blotchy form of gestural abstract painting developed in France.
 Victorian Art (Britain)
(1840-1900)
Arts and crafts from the reign of Queen Victoria. See: Victorian
architecture.
 Vienna Secession
(1897-1939)
Breakaway artist body who rejected the cit's conservative Academy of Arts.
 Vingt, Les (1883-93)
Belgian group of progressive artists like James Ensor, Fernand Khnopff.
 Vorticism (1914-15)
English Cubist-style painting developed by Percy Wyndham Lewis.

Poster Artists
Centered around La Belle Epoque in Paris, poster art was exemplified
by the creativity (and inventions) of Jules Cheret (1836-1932), the wonderful
"Cabaret Du Chat Noir" poster designed by Theophile Steinlen
(1859-1923), the theatrical posters of Toulouse-Lautrec
(1864-1901), and the art nouveau works of Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).
After Mucha left for America, the talented Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942)
arrived in Paris from Italy. Another important poster and set designer
was Leon Bakst (1866-1924), who came to Paris with the Ballets
Russes run by Sergei Diaghilev.

Art Deco (1920s, 1930s)
As much a decorative art and design movement as a style of painting, its
most famous representative was probably the glamorous Polish-Russian society
portraitist Tamara de
Lempicka (c.1895-1980).

Abstract Expressionists
Abstract expressionist painting was the first great American art movement.
Also known as the New York school, its leading members included: Rothko,
Pollock, Willem De Kooning (1904-97), Clyfford Still (1904-1980), Barnett
Newman (1905-70), Robert Motherwell (1915-91), Franz Kline (1910-62) and
others.

Pop-Artists
This popular style of modern art superceded the more intellectual Abstract
Expressionism and was exemplified by painters such as: Andy Warhol (1928-87)
and Roy Lichtenstein (1923-97).

Modern Sculptors

Leading sculptors during the modern era
included: the expressive realist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917); the expressionists
Ernst Barlach (1870-1938) and Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1881-1919); the avant-garde
artist Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957); the Futurist Umberto Boccioni
(1882-1916), the Cubists Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964), Raymond Duchamp-Villon
(1876-1918), Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973) and
Naum Gabo (1890-1977); the kineticists Alexander Calder (1898-1976) and
Jean Tinguely (1925-91); and the Swiss minimalist sculptor Alberto Giacometti
(1901-66). Other modernist forms are represented by the primitive works
of Modigliani (1884-1920) and Jacob Epstein (1880-1959); and the "found
objects" known as "readymades" of Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968).
Meanwhile, modern British sculpture was embodied by Henry Moore (1898-1986),
Barbara Hepworth (1903-75) and Ben Nicholson (1894-1982). Modern sculpture
in America is exemplified by the works of James Earle Fraser (1876-1953),
Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), Anna Hyatt Huntingdon (1876-1973),
and Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941). Mid-twentieth century modernism is represented
by the assemblages of Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) and Cesar Baldaccini
(1921-98); the heroic statues of Yevgeny Vuchetich (1908-74); and the
emotive holocaust sculptures of Wiktor Tolkin (1922-2013) and Nandor Glid
(1924-97). See also: 20th
Century Sculptors.